“Retirement Is One Hell of a Change”: Autistic People's Experiences of Retiring

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Davies, J., Matthews, R., Romualdez, A. M., Pellicano, E., & Remington, A. (2024). “Retirement Is One Hell of a Change”: Autistic People's Experiences of Retiring. Autism in Adulthood, 8(2), 162-174. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0155

Publication date: 5 Mar 2024 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)

Abstract

Background: Limited research has examined autistic people's experiences of aging. Although the significance of retirement in the context of aging has been highlighted by autistic people themselves, there is a dearth of research in this regard, with only one study focusing on the retirement experiences of one autistic man. Methods: In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight older autistic people (mean age = 63 years, range = 56-70 years) who had retired or semi-retired in the past 10 years, and four who were planning to retire in the next 5 years. We aimed to generate some of the first insights regarding autistic people's retirement experiences. We analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Experiences were diverse. Challenges in retirement planning and adjustment were reported by some, whereas others viewed retirement as a positive respite from challenging work environments. The availability of more leisure time was appreciated by some, whereas others encountered ongoing responsibilities and obstacles hindering desired activities. A common theme was the inadequate support available for autistic people during retirement. Concerns about the aging process, including concerns about health decline and the possibility of entering residential care, were also common. Conclusion: Future research should examine the suitability of residential care for older autistic adults, consider alternative autistic-led group living arrangements, and explore avenues for improved support during and after the retirement transition.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 01:40.

Cited references
82
With a DOI
72
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
10
16 / 82 (19.5%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 82 (4.9%)
References with detected author names
78 / 82 (95.1%)
Without detected author names
4
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
10
References with raw author names still to review
4
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
291
From DOI or external metadata
291
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
4
120 / 291 (41.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 171 / 291 (58.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
28 / 291 (9.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 28 / 120 (23.3%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 20 / 256 (7.8%).
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